THE DREAM - At the beginning of the dream things were going quite well. I seemed to be confident and happy. I was trying new things and meeting new people. Then later it seemed to be the end of the world or some kind of apocalypse. The city had fallen apart and society was in real decline. The alligators were taking over and there were real no go zones. I realised that we would have to venture into alligator zones and kill them off in order to make these areas safe. The prospect of this seemed daunting. This new world was desperate, lonely and brutal. It was full of misery with grotesque poverty everywhere.

THE REALITY The dreamer had been getting out little more than usual. But he was still dangerously isolated. The previous night his father had told him he had decided to have a serious operation which could kill him. The dreamer spent that night worrying, as he was aware that he spent most of his time at his fathers as he was socially inept, and going round to his fathers was all he could cope with. His father was very elderly and about to undergo a dangerous operation and he now faced the prospect of losing him.

THE INTERPRETATION This dream followed on from a night of real despondency and worry for the dreamer. His father told him he was determined to have a serious operation which might lead to his death. The dreamer had been thinking how he spent a great deal of time at his fathers and how he did not like to venture out of his safe little world. This is the type of issue which is sure to cause a dream.

Surely this end of world dream is linked to this issue. It uses the obvious metaphor "if my father died then it would seem like the end of the world."

How can we develop this theme and analyse the dream further? What could the alligators mean. The dreamer felt that the alligators were associated with danger and risk. In real life the dreamer depended on his father and lived in a very safe and secure environment. If his father died he was realising that he would really struggle. He would have to go out and meet new people or live on his own never talking to anyone. He had extreme fears about meeting new people. Venturing out into alligator infested lands was a symbol for this specific fear "I hate meeting new people. I like my safe and secure life with my father."

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "If my father dies then it will be a big loss. I spend at lot of time at his house and would have to go out meeting new people which I don't like."